Window shade and roller



Sept. 19, 1939.

w. E SARRAN WINDOW SHADE AND ROLLER Filed Aug. 16, 1937 BY W My INVENTOR.

WM! ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 19, 1939 UNETED STATES WINDOW SHADE AND ROLLER Wallace E. Sarran, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Chas. W. Breneman ilompany, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application August 16, 1937, Serial No. 159,237

4 Claims.

This invention relates to window shades and is particularly directed to improvements in the structure of the rollers upon which the shades are attached and reeled.

It has been the practice in the past to utilize wooden rollers for reeling the shade or blind. These rollers are supplied with winding mechanism which serves automatically to retract or rewind the shade when it is to be raised.

In the merchandising of window shades, the shades are supplied, according to the desire of the purchaser, either attached to the roller, or the shades or rollers may be purchased separately. The cost of the roller is relatively high in relation to the cost of the shade, consequently many housewives, in the interest of economy, prefer to discard only the worn shades and to salvage the rollers for use with the new shades when replacement becomes necessary. This practice is followed particularly in the use of paper shades which sell for a very low price and are replaced quite frequently.

The conventional rollers are made of wood and the shades usually are attached to the rollers by tacking, although in some instances in the use of paper shades, attachment is facilitated by means of an adhesive coating at the upper edge of the shade. The replacing of shades entails considerable work on the part of the housewife, however, since it is necessary for her first to remove the old shade from the roller and to clear the roller of tacks or any fragments of paper that may adhere to it. The greatest difficulty however, is encountered in attaching the new shade in proper alignment on the roller to have the shade hang straight and wind evenly on the roller. Moreover, the additional thickness of material necessarily applied on the circumference of the roller at the hue of attachment of the shade produces the effect of an out of round roller as the successive turns of the shade material are reeled upon the roller and bent to conform to the irregularity. An exaggerated condition of this sort is especially injurious to paper shades as the fibrous material has a tendency, in conforming to the irregular periphery of the roller, to take a permanent set. Therefore, the shade, when drawn, does not hang straight but presents a wavy or undulating surface which not only detracts from its appearance, but greatly shortens its life.

While the attachment of a shade to a roller is not a difficult operation for a person having some mechanical ingenuity, the task is a troublesome one for the average housewife.

For this reason, in many instances housewives prefer to purchase the shade and roller already assembled even at the extra expense of new rollers each time new shades are to be installed in the home.

It has been an objective of the present invention to provide an inexpensive roller and shade unit which does not require the use of the conventional wooden roller for its operation.

It has been a further objective of the invention to provide an improved tubular shade roller of convolute wound cross section better adapted to conform to the natural winding or reeling of the shade upon the roller.

The present invention is predicated upon the concept of providing a window shade having an integral fibrous roller formed of a continuation of the shade portion. Otherwise expressed the invention contemplates a window shade having a reel and shade formed from a continuous length of a web of shade material, so as to avoid attachment of the shade to the reel which carries it. The material constituting the reel is bonded or cemented to itself, as in levers or convolutions, to give the reel appropriate rigidity. The reel also may be formed of or strengthened by fibrous material stronger or heavier than the reelable shade portion but with the two integrated one with the other in common length; for instance, filler material may be used in the reel section and cemented thereto to insure the permancy of its formation. In making the shades of the invention it is preferable to wind the length of the material of the reel portion upon a mandrel, while adhesive is applied, until a tubular roll of an appropriate diameter is provided on the length of material forming shade portion.

The drawing illustrates one embodiment of the invention in a window shade of the type suited to use in homes. In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a general view in elevation of the improved shade and roller installed on a window frame.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 2--2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 3-3, Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view in elevation, illustrating the structure of the ferrule at one end of the roller.

Figure 5 is a perspective view partly in cross section illustrating the manner in which the roller is formed during manufacture.

Referring specifically to the drawing, a window frame is shownat 9 and the shade generally at It]. The roller ll of the shade is supported in a pair of brackets l2 and I3 at the top of the frame in the usual manner.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the shade is either of paper or cloth of the quality commonly in use for shade material. The roller H of the shade consists of a reel formed of this material, the shade itself being in effect a continuation of the turns or layers making up the tube.

In order to expedite the forming of the tube and to reduce the cost of materials, a portion of the tube consists of a fibrous filler of an inexpensive material commercially known as chip board or straw board, which is considerably less costly than the shade material. The layers of this material, indicated at M, alternate with the layers [5 of the shade material in the convolutions making upthe tube.

In forming the tube as shown in Fig. 5, one end of the filler board is placed on a mandrel i6 and is wound or rolled partially of its length while coated with an adhesive l1, either on one or both of its surfaces. When the filler is wound about half way of its length on the mandrel, the upper end of the shade material is inserted between the turns of the filler board and wound up with it. The length of the filler board is somewhat short of the length necessary to produce the completed roller and the last turn or two in the winding process is completed by the shade material.

The adhesive is applied continuously, or discontinuously to the shade material to a transverse line corresponding to the distance to which it permanently will be wound upon the roller and the remainder or unwound portion forms the window shade length. It may be seen that the formation of the roller over a mandrel results in a perfectly convolute tube, the periphery of which conforms naturally to the service for which it is intended.

The tubular or barrel formation of the tube provides a bore 18 for the insertion of the winding mechanism l9. As shown in Figure 3, the winding mechanism is of a conventional type, comprising, a spring 20 engaged and anchored at its inner end (not shown) on a spindle 2!. A Winding spear head 22 is secured in the outer end of the spindle and engages in the slotted driving bracket 12 attached at the top of the window frame. The head 23 of the driving mechanism includes the usual pivoted pawls for engagement with a lug or catcher attached to the spindle for holding the shade in adjusted position. These parts are of conventional structure however, and for this reason their construction is not detailed in the drawing.

The driving mechanism is retained in place by means of a thin walled ferrule 24 engaged over the head 23 and on the roller H in the same manner as on the regular wooden shade. Since the shade extends the full width of the roller the ferrule also extends and engages the shade. However, the ferrule is provided with a slot 25 which receives a marginal portion of the unreeled shade, as shown in Fig. 4. The ferrule may be used at the both ends of the core for balance. The novel construction protects the shade reel ends and at the same time prevents uncoiling of the reel. The ferrule construction is compact and very suitable for the purpose.

The end of the roller opposite the rewinding mechanism is supported on an ordinary pivot pin 26 adapted for engagement in the bracket IS in the usual manner. The pin 25 is provided on a plug 27 which is of the same diameter as the interior of the roller. The plug may be of Wood or of any other suitable material and is fitted in such a manner as to frictionally be held in place. The pin of the plug, if desired, may be turned from the plug portion so as to be integral therewith, or may be made of metal, for insertion into the plug portion. The shade is provided with a pull cord 28 and slat 29 at the lower end to facilitate raising and lowering.

While the material of the shade has been described and illustrated preferably as of paper or fibrous material it is evident that the tubular roller may be formed, in the same manner, of cloth of the type used for window shades, and the filler board may be used to provide additional stiffness in the reel roller or portion, but if desired, the use of the filler board may be dispensed with altogether and the entire roller made up of the material forming the shade proper.

The structure of the roller is such that the winding mechanism readily may be inserted or removed, the parts being held together in frictional engagement. This permits the reuse of the winding mechanism, if desired, when the shade is to be replaced by a new one.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A new article of manufacture, a window shade comprising a length of fibrous sheet material having a portion adjacent an end coiled to constitute a reeling core, the convolutions of the core so formed being strengthened by a filler material.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a window shade comprising a length of sheet material coiled at one end to constitute a reeling core, the convolutions of the core being strengthened by filler, the filler comprising material located intermediate the convolutions of the core, and the convolutions of the core and the filler cemented by a binder.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a window shade comprising a length of sheet material coiled at one end to embody a permanent reeling core, the reeling core reenforced by fibrous material intermediate the convolutions.

4. A window shade comprising a web of sheet material coiled over a portion of its length at one end into a hollow reeling core, sheet filler material intermediate the convolutions constituting the core, the core capped at its ends by ferrules having slits receiving uncoiled material extending from the coil, and a rewinding mechanism carried within the hollow of the core.

WALLACE E. SARRAN. 

